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Would you give up everything for a life you hate with the person you love?

Paige McAllister needs to do something drastic. Her boyfriend can’t even commit to living in the same country, her promised promotion is dead on arrival and the simultaneous loss of her brother and her dream of being a concert violinist has kept her playing life safe and predictable for six years. Things need to change. A moment of temporary insanity finds her leaving her life in Chicago to move to Sydney, Australia. There she finds herself, against many of her convictions, as a logistics planner for one of Australia’s biggest churches, and on a collision course with her boss’s son.

Josh Tyler fronts a top-selling worship band and is in demand all over the world. But his past failed romantic relationships almost destroyed both his reputation and his family. He’s determined to never risk it happening again. The last thing he needs is some American girl tipping his ordered life upside down. Especially one who despises everything he’s ever worked for and manages to push every button he has.

When Josh and Paige are thrown together to organize his band’s next tour, the sparks fly. But can they find a way to bridge the differences that pull them apart? Or will they choose the safety and security of what they know over taking a chance on something that will require them to risk everything?

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My Thoughts

If Kara Isaac wasn’t already on my auto-buy list, this cover would have sold me faster than you can say “G’day, mate!” The land down under invokes an unexplainable and undeniable attraction (maybe it’s the yummy accent, maybe it’s the koala bears, I don’t know, I just roll with it), the southern hemisphere is calling me!

Paige McAllister is my kind of character! It’s easy to like an all-American gal who is stuck in a rut, too hard on herself and has organizational superpowers (I’m so jelly!) Could be that I’m just an easy sell but within the first quarter of the story, I was ready to dole out some serious stars. Paige decides to fly halfway across the world despite her paralyzing fear of flying and I’m just sitting here (with my healthy flight aversion, reaching for a brown paper bag) completely in awe of her for grabbing life by the horns (with or without a sedative). As a side note, my flight aversion has just reached an unhealthy level.

Aussie Josh Tyler is relatively boring for an international Christian worship music superstar (I happen to find boring to be a very attractive quality, Mister Steady is my main squeeze). When he’s not jetting around the world for performances, Josh spends his time in prayer, practice, and songwriting. Despite performing for thousands of enthusiastic concertgoers around the world, Josh is surprisingly and refreshingly grounded and humble. Too bad his humility is actually self-loathing for his past mistakes. Looks like our lead couple has more in common than it first appeared and isn’t that just a reader’s dream?!

In the interest of wrapping things up and avoiding spoilers (and any additional craziness that might try to leap out of my head), I have to admit that this book made me think twice about lumping all mega churches and worship music superstars into one big superficial heap of stink (just like all those little rural country churches aren’t only filled with little old ladies and an overabundance of lemon scented furniture polish). The elements of healing, forgiveness, and seeking God’s will above our own plans and understanding within this story touched my heart and brought tears to my eyes. I highly recommend this and all of Kara Isaac’s books!

I borrowed this book through Kindle Unlimited and also received the opportunity to read this book through the author. The opinions expressed are my own.

About the Author

Kara Isaac lives in Wellington, New Zealand. She is the author of Close to You, a RITA Award Double Finalist, and Can’t Help Falling, an RT Review Top Pick. Her newest book Then There Was You released on June 22. When she’s not chasing three adorable but spirited little people, she spends her time writing horribly bad first drafts and wishing you could get Double Stuf Oreos in New Zealand. She loves to connect on her website, Facebook, and Twitter.

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review Close to You | review Can’t Help Falling

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